CONSERVATORY

BESANCON(FRANCE)

Competition 2007

The Cité des Arts proposal for Besançon groups a FRAC (Regional Fund for Contemporary Art) and a CNR (Conservatoire of Music), beside the river Doubs. Its site lies between two bastion towers that are vestiges of 17th century fortifications built by Vauban. The programme concerns a range of different spaces, more or less open to the public, laid out flat. In the central part, a continuum of open spaces forms a link between the city centre and the riverside. Its form evolves from that of a forecourt to a huge foyer, enabling direct access to the FRAC, the CNR, an open air cloister for live shows, and a terrace restaurant laid out in an old industrial building. Façades are cut away to reveal the activities inside, and in some places sight lines cross the entire set.

The roofs of the new facility have a crystalline look; their angles derive as much from Vauban’s military architecture as from the rocky spurs that rise over the city, the old parts of which are built of the same Chailluz stone. They create an artificial contemporary ridge line perceptible from many different vantage points, in particular the citadel. By night, glazed skylights illuminate this huge crystalline sculpture.